Philip Buchanon
Phillip LaFresque is the main protagonist and the player character of the Penumbra series. History Philip is a thirty-year-old physics teacher. He is first met as he attends his mother's funeral where he receives a letter from his father, Howard LaFresque, who has been presumed dead for thirty years. The letter asks him to destroy several cryptic documents that are being held in a bank safe in Mayfair. Drawn by his curiosity, Philip does not heed his fathers wishes and instead decides to investigate these documents by presenting them to a linguistics expert. The expert is baffled by the content, but does manage to identify coordinates of a mine in Greenland. Philip decides to investigate the mine on his own, a choice which leads to the disastrous events of the Penumbra series. Philip is voiced by an uncredited Tom Jubert (the script writer of the series) in the opening narration of Penumbra: Overture and is replaced by Bram Floria for the rest of the series. Personality Philip is strong willed for the most part (albeit reluctant and generally fearful), as shown by his ventures into the deadly corridors of the Greenland Mine and The Shelter. However, this is offset by his pessimistic attitude in dialogue. He perceives many things in both scenarios from a philosophical point of view, which is mainly shown during loading screens and especially in the e-mail at the end of Penumbra: Requiem, provided the player collected all collectibles and chose to die with Red. Appearance Philip is shown in most of his concept art as a white male, wearing a red-brown arctic jacket with similar garb, given his expedition into Greenland. However, in the Tech Demo, he is shown wearing a yellow jacket instead. His hair color is brown and, though his face is seldom seen, it is generally obscured by shadows. Infection It is clear that Philip was infected with the virus when he explored the mine shafts. He hears whispering throughout the entire series and experiences déjà vu a few times even before encountering Dr. Amabel Swanson. Theories explaining how Philip got infected include: the blow to his head or the numerous dog bites he sustained Penumbra: Overture. Some theories suggest the infection is airborne, but this cannot be since Amabel explains over the speaker in Penumbra: Black Plague that it is spread through bodily fluids and, if it was airborne, Amabel would have also been infected, which she was not. Possible Death At the end of the game, Philip is experiencing multiple symptoms of infection. While Clarence was in his body, he was more or less immune to the disease; Clarence may have been fighting it off, or it might simply have been unable to affect Philip while he was already infected. Therefore, once Clarence was removed from his system, Philip became instantly and totally vulnerable to the Tuurngait. It is possible, then, that the Tuurngait's "last chance" was one long delaying tactic to prevent Philip from doing anything to destroy it. Further Fate At the beginning of Penumbra: Requiem, Philip is knocked unconscious, leading to the game's events. Going through some kind of strange dream-world, Philip is presented a choice by Red, either die with the secret of The Shelter and the Tuurngait, or continue his survival (The latter of which would likely lead to some kind of catastrophe, as implied by Red). If the former is chosen, Philip dies in the computer room where Penumbra: Black Plague had ended. However, if Philip chooses otherwise, he presumably leaves the Shelter and boards the boat, which turns out to be a version of the boat Clarence had created. At this point, it is unclear what Philip's fate is, though there is general agreement that he lives, albeit trapped in his own mind. Penumbra: Necrologue In the fan-made sequel Necrologue, Philip survives the events of Requiem one way or another. He is contacted once again by his allies and proceeds on a journey to end what he had started. Category:Characters